


Elisa's Reflection

by SperoDeoVolente (DarthUmbreon)



Category: Gargoyles (Cartoon)
Genre: BAMF Elisa Maza, Body Dysphoria, Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Gen, Magic Mirrors, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22999417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthUmbreon/pseuds/SperoDeoVolente
Summary: Elisa hunts down the creature responsible for turning the gargoyles into soulless husks when awake. She is faced with her inner demons and proves they no longer keep her trapped.
Kudos: 1
Collections: Purimgifts 2020





	Elisa's Reflection

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unDeleterious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unDeleterious/gifts).



Elisa staggered into the small chamber leaving behind a trail of red footprints. Floor to ceiling mirrors encompassed the entire room illuminated by glowing orbs dangling from above. Her reflection looked back at her from six different angles before they wavered into a nightmare of thin, disjointed limbs attached to a slender body.

“Whatever Xanatos told you, it’s a lie. The Gargoyles aren’t evil! Release your spell over them,” Elisa choked out, tongue heavy. Head dizzy, the world spun slowly around Eliza. She pinched the wound in her shoulder. Pain coursed through her and she focused on the pain, used it to stay grounded. “Please.”

“My dear, Xanatos has nothing to do with my revenge. The man walked away from my offer like a fool! No, this is all my doing.” The creature spat out the words and started to pace around Elisa, shifting from mirror to mirror. “I will end those monsters once and for all!”

“Ugh, and I thought Xanatos was bad about cliche lines,” Elisa muttered softly before she pushed through the pain, standing up while her shoulders straightened. Her feet slide into a relaxed stance, her fists rising up. “I don’t care what you think they are, I will protect them.”

“Heh, foolish mortal. They failed to protect my family, my wife… they’re dead because the Gargoyles failed their sworn duty!” The words tumbled out faster and faster, the limbs lashing side to side. A long, thick black tongue licked along the inside of the mirror, slurping loudly. 

“...” 

Elisa kept her fists up, eyes watching the nightmare shifting through the mirrors. It had cursed her friends, cursed Goliath, into a comatose state of existence. When she looked into their eyes, all she saw was blankness similar to being soulless. With each passing second, her limbs felt like they were transforming into lead weights. That thing in the mirrors never stopped circling her through the six mirrors surrounding her. She licked her lips and swallowed hard before speaking.

“You can’t attack me, can you?”

“Clever human, you figured out one of my tricks. I’m a creature of darkness, my kin exists between worlds. We can not tamper with humans, nor can humans tamper with us. Those gargoyles, however… their simple minds are easy enough to ensnare.” 

With each complete rotation through the mirrors, the nightmare grew more eyes and teeth. The limbs broke and splintered into more limbs, but it never had more than six of any feature. No more than six eyes, six mouths full of needle-like teeth, six limbs… always the same number. An idea came to Elisa and she couldn’t hold back the grin that took over her face.

“Is that all you’ve got? Empty threats and hollow praise,” Elisa stepped closer to the walls, her reflection flaring back to life. It wasn’t reflected infinitely as she thought it would, given the number of mirrors. Soon it shifted and changed to what her body looked before hormones, before surgery. An all too familiar ache flooded her, that gut-wrenching sensation of wrong, and her reflection had an ugly smirk. 

“No, I am capable of more. You are in my domain. I control the reflections, I am one with these mirrors. Let me show you the truth...”

Elisa spat on the mirror closest to her. Her lips flatlined into a thin line. I survived dysphoria before, and I’ll do it again! Goliath, the others… they need me! They want and accept Elisa. One fist pulled back before she slammed it into the mirror. It shattered. Her face was damp, vision blurry, but she didn’t stop throwing punches. Gone was her reflection, replaced by the nightmare. The number of limbs, eyes, and mouths had grown. It twitched and spasmed.

“What are you doing? Stop! Stop!”

Each slam of her bleeding fist into a mirror caused the nightmare to splinter and shatter. Not a single mirror was sparred her fury. Fists bleeding, she didn’t stop until the entire room was in shambles. Countless slivers of glass crunched under her boots. The trail of bloody footprints was larger leaving the chamber than the ones entering. She walked until she could no longer stand. As her vision faded to black, the concerned face of Goliath filled her entire world.

Later, after she was discharged from the hospital, Elisa heard more of the story from Hudson. The creature she fought was a denizen of the ether, their existence tied to the mirrors they lived in. Wellfed, they could see from any reflective surface and manipulative magical beings. When she broke the mirrors it was a part of, the influx of information from countless sources drove it away. In order to survive, it had to drop the curse and use all of its power to survive. Goliath wasted no time following the trail of blood she left behind in her rush to rescue them. Elisa smiled fondly at her friends and she knew that she was home, free to be herself, with the Gargoyles. 

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/187267816@N04/49612830026/in/dateposted-public/)


End file.
